religious freedom bill passed by lawmakers in his state. governor hutchinson is set to have a news conference within the hour. looking at about 30 minutes from now. the governor previously said he would sign the religious freedom bill into law, but the nation's largest retailer is now weighing in urging the governor to veto that law in his state. in a statement yesterday, the ceo of walmart, based in arkansas, said the law, quote, threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state of arkansas and does not reflect the values we proudly uphold. these religious freedom laws are now on the books in 21 states but the laws in indiana and arkansas are drawing more heat since anti-discrimination laws in those states do not protect sexual orientation. joining me now, benjamin hardy, associate editor with "arkansas times." interesting yesterday as we waited for governor pence to speak, he was on fox news

standing firm regarding that law. by the time the news conference happened he was ready to propose a clarification of his state's law. might we see a change with governor hutchinson in arkansas? >> well it is possible. we don't know. we have to wait and see in the press conference. i think a lot has changed since hutchinson said last week he would support it. walmart ceo weighing in hasn't hurt but there's a tremendous amount of pressure from the business community and other quarters. he is in a dilemma about what to do with the bill. >> you mention walmart. let's talk about the influence that store not only has nationally but particularly in arkansas. this is a major part of the reason we saw transition or change in indiana. what kind of power does walmart have there? >> well i mean walmart has a lot of power nationally obviously, but within the state

of arkansas its economic influence can't be overstated. arkansas is a small state with a small economy. having the world's largest private employer here means that it is tremendously influential. >> i know the arkansas times say the governor pushed for inclusion of amendment with nondiscrimination language but some lawmakers of the bill particularly sponsors refused that. so is that an indication that there was some discomfort from the beginning from the governor? >> i think that's fair to say. there's a companion piece of legislation, senate bill 202 that passed earlier in the session, he let it become law without his signature, it passed the legislature. that's a bill that would prevent local ordinances at the city level from banning discrimination against other protected classes. so the fact that he let that

become law without signature indicates he has had some discomfort with this sort of legislation, but he indicated before he would allow this bill hb 1228 to become law, and rumors we have been hearing, he tried to broker some compromise between the right wing of his party and opponents of the bill. thus far, we haven't heard about it. >> thank you for joining us live. now joining me jason roll in director of the human rights campaign that has spoken out against the religious freedom law, and sandy who supports religious freedom laws. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> sandy start with you. get your reaction from what you heard from governor pence and this clarification of law you support which would greatly change in many ways some of the things i think you were

expecting. >> i think clarification needs to happen. clarification is needed tamron. the problem is that the law has been completely mischaracterized. religious freedom restoration act is protection for every person listening to me. it isn't about coming after gays or lesbians not about coming after anyone it is what we call a shield not a sword. doesn't cause anybody to do anything. provides a way where people who have strong religious us faith and convictions about certain things can defend themselves in court if being forced to do something that goes against their conscience. part of the problem is that people don't know the whole story. they're being whipped into a frenzy over things that are not true. and part of the story, a big part of the story they don't know, probably don't know about a woman that was 71 years old, a grandmother that owns a floral shop in oregon inherited from her mother who has gay employees, serves gay people all the time.

a gay couple came to her, asked her to give artistry to their gay wedding, she said i can't do that. they have been customers of hers for years, she said i don't agree with gay marriage i can't do that. now they're trying to take her homes, they're coming after her, trying to take her business. by they i mean the government in washington state because she doesn't have a right as a 72-year-old grandmother to say i love you, you're my customer but i don't agree with gay marriage and i can't give you my artistry. same thing happened to a young couple aaron and melissa klein with a cake shop. melissa does these beautiful cakes. was asked to do a cake for a gay wedding, and said in good conscience i can't do this. now they have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars, have five small children, had to give up the business. this is the part of the story people are not hearing. >> let me read a statement regarding angie's list that the american family association released, your organization

angie's list one of the businesses who stood firm against the law in indiana. this is the statement from your group. unfortunately angie's list has joined with thousands of homosexual activists, including lesbian ellen degeneres, opposing religious freedom for people in indiana. angie's list -- if they do not violate their sincere religious beliefs by bowing to activist demands as is happening in states without religious freedom restoration act. angie's list and others have said they do not want businesses to be able to discriminate whether it is a gay or lesbian couple, whether there's an african-american couple interracial couple that comes in wants to be a customer. and they can say it is based on

religious beliefs. >> think about what you said tamron. does that mean angie's list has to start posting somebody to work for the kkk, we need a new secretary, we need advertise. this is the way it works. this particular act protects everyone, including gays and lesbians. gay cake baker could not be forced to make a cake for a celebration of marriage between a man and woman and make a cake that expresses that they don't have to do that under this protection. this law is a shield not a sword. >> why is the governor changing and now saying a few days after what he said was a terrible set of interviews on sunday that he needs a clarification and that indiana hoosiers need a clarification, if it is a okay. >> i think it is obvious, tamron that he has been threatened economically. indiana has been doing

fabulously. one of the most successful states in the union in terms of bringing economic growth. now all these businesses are threatening him. even the ncaa tournament nascar. here he has all the people's lives in indiana in his hands, their future their economic future, and he is beginning to feel the heat. i think that explains it but that doesn't make it right. it is wrong. this bill is logical, reasonable protects freedoms for every american. it happens to be christians now because they're really taking a hit. and i have to say of gay people that i know not the activists because all they want is their way, they're insatiable. gay people i know that are reasonable don't want their 72-year-old grandmothers losing their business and homes because they don't -- they have a conscience about gay marriage. this is wrong. that's why we need this bill. >> jason, you can respond here. >> i want to address the

misperceptions and sense from sandy and from governor pence that people don't understand the inherent danger and and must driving these types of laws. last night, nike opposed the bill, spoke out forcefully. microsoft spoke out against it. apple ceo tim cook spoke out against it. they know what the law is about. it is about empowering people who wish to refuse service to committed, loving gay and lesbian people because of who they are or who they love. that's wrong. that's why companies are opposing it. that's why the american people are opposing it. >> no, they don't know the whole story, jason. >> they're smart people sandy, they know the whole story. >> i don't think they're smart at all. >> you don't think the ceo of apple is smart? >> if he were smart, why is he doing business with countries where they're executing homosexuals? does that concern you, jason? that's where apple is doing business. he is upset about indiana because they're trying to protect people of conscience not having to breach their

conscience but he is okay with selling apple computers to countries that execute gay people. >> what about the ncaa? >> they watch the media. they watch the ridiculous exaggeration and overstatement supplied by human rights campaign. >> let me say here one of the conservative groups that joined forces with yours to get the original version of the law passed said their impression the intent of the law, that's a big -- i think that's an important part of this the intent, says christian bakers, florists, photographers should not be forced by the government to participate in homosexual weddings. pastors should not be forced by the government to conduct a homosexual wedding. >> i agree. >> at the church. >> they shouldn't and they're not. >> a pro-life business owner shouldn't be forced to rent facilities to a pro-abortion shop. the governor says clarification

needed in indiana is to clearly state that all are welcome in the businesses to do business in indiana. that any person who wants to go into a florist, doesn't matter who they love as he put it, should be served at that baker and florist. that's what he seeks to clarify. is he wrong? >> tamron we don't need to clarify that. i have to say. >> yes, we do. >> this law says unless there's a compelling public interest you can't force someone against their conscience. we had the same thing happen when the morning after pill was legalized. there were pharmacists that didn't believe in abortion didn't want to give the pill. they would say go next door here is a pharmacy that will give you the pill, but i personally in good conscience can't do this. i have to say, gay men and women that want to get married can go to another florist or cake shop. they continually target people they know have strong christian

convictions for this very purpose. they will not allow any fences whatsoever. they want their way, no matter what. they want everyone to bow to the knee. >> some may say that's your view, you want it your way. >> no. >> let me finish. you want it your way, and lost to successful businesses who for whatever reason you say threaten but stand by their convictions, and it appears they won in indiana. >> i think it is soon to say that tamron. i would say businesses listen businesses are not known for moral compass. hobby lobby is an exception. hobby lobby has a strong history of strong moral convictions the way they do business. >> sounds like you're saying if they don't agree with you, they want it their way, random activists and media are spinning the story, if they don't agree with you and your position then you dismiss them from tim cook to ncaa to angie's list, that if they don't agree with you. >> walmart. >> you shoe them away.

>> tamron my position is that every american has a right to exercise their conscience. i think msnbc has a right to refuse commercials around the clock that promote racism and discrimination or separation. you don't have to take the ads. wouldn't it bother you if msnbc ran ads, bought the time want to say whites are superior to blacks, we should have separate but equal, you would have a problem with that. and you know what you shouldn't have to do that. msnbc shouldn't have to do that. this law is protecting all of us from having to do things that we have a conscience against. it is a reasonable law. we have had the protection since 1993. how many gay people -- >> what sandy is describing not only comparing apples to oranges, comparing apples to volkswagons. at the end of the day, there's no religious freedom crisis in america. the only crisis is anti-lbgt

legislation which at its core is driven by activists like you. >> ask the young bankers who lost their business had five children to support and have multiple hundreds of thousands of fines because they wouldn't do a cake for a gay wedding. >> ask the republican governor in saying he would oppose legislation there, what crisis is this going to solve? >> jason, i don't take my opinions from what other men or businesses think. i think it is common sense. >> i think it isn't common sense, i think the american people agree. >> they don't even know who baron he will stets man is, don't know who the bakers are. don't know the story. >> thank you for your time. >> we will continue to follow breaking news. we will bring you the latest as we hear from the governor of that state. another state under fire this morning. moving on now, that i think both. developing now, there are hopes framework for a nuclear deal with iran will be announced as

talks continue in switzerland, yesterday's deadline passed. they released this video of a teleconference where secretary of state briefed president obama and members of his national security team. that as all sides said enough progress was made to continue talks. >> we have accomplished quite a bit. i hope that we can finalize the work on wednesday. >> this morning, benjamin netanyahu blasted the deal he says is emerging. >> given iran's murderous regime a clear path to the bomb is negotiable. this is unconscionable. concessions offered to iran would ensure a bad deal that would endanger israel the middle east, and the peace of the world. >> nbc news tehran bureau chief joins us live from iran's capital. at least at this point we don't

have a new statement, but there are indications we could hear something soon ali. >> reporter: there seem to be competing claims about a deal as talks continue beyond that missed deadline. three of foreign ministers left. speaking from paris this morning, he said there hasn't been sufficient progress yet, then the german foreign minister spokesperson said there has been progress. speaking on state tv said if the signs make progress on the text of a joint statement, it could be issued by end of the day. he suggested a statement wouldn't contain specifics and western officials immediately said a statement with no details is not good. the iranians want to be opaque on what to give up limit and

converge. one of the lead negotiators added that if agreement is reached, sanctions on oil banking and finance have to be lifted immediately, insisted on keeping research and development on advance centrifuges, points of contention sure to complicate matters. >> thank you very much. developing now, the ceos of lufthansa and germanwings refuse to answer questions after revelations that the airline knew the co-pilot suffered severe depression in the past. >> i'm sorry. >> why did it take so long to publish. >> i'm sorry. and the latest reports that cell phone video was taken inside the plane as it crashed. a live report from france. and investigation is under way in the death of andrew getty. his body found in his california home. and is it a rough start or

much to do about nothing. trevor noah has good and bad buzz around him. what comedy central and the"the daily show" say about fuss about his tweets. join the conversation online. find the team at "newsnation" and find me on facebook, twitter, and instagram. [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] zzzquil, the non habit forming sleep aid that helps you sleep easily and wake refreshed. because sleep is a beautiful thing. before larry instantly transferred money from his bank of america savings account to his merrill edge retirement account. before he opened his first hot chocolate stand calling winter an "underserved season". and before he quit his friend's leaf-raking business for "not offering a 401k." larry knew the importance of preparing for retirement. that's why when the time came he counted on merrill edge to streamline his investing and help him plan for the road ahead. that's the power of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america.

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developing now, the ceos of lufthansa and germanwings are refusing to answer questions about how much they knew about andreas lubitz's mental health. near the crash site they spoke to reporters briefly and thanked search crews for recovery efforts but would not talk about lubitz. yesterday, they announced he wrote an e-mail to flight school

six years ago where he said he suffered from severe depression. bill neely asked the ceo about that e-mail today. >> the 2009 e-mail from lubitz. >> why did it take so long to publish the e-mails. he crashed the plane. why are you refuse to go take questions. >> and questions about alleged video taken in the cabin during the final moments cht flight. two tabloids claim it was taken by a passenger cell phone. french authorities say it is fake. co-editor told the "today" show today he is convinced it is real. >> we checked, investigate, we are pretty positive about our source, which is close to the investigation team. so there's no doubt what we saw are the final seconds of what happened. the footage is blurry but the

sound, there's no doubt that the passenger knew what was going on inside and knew what was going to happen. >> claudio, if this turns out real, whether it will be leased to the public to see. people are horrified at that thought. >> indeed. this video is a bit of a mystery within the mystery. the french prosecutor saying today he was not aware of the existence of this video or any video that was shot by passengers on board that plane and presumably found on the crash site but the first person that saw the video, then showed it -- published on the website that he stands by reports that this video was shown to him by a

source close to the investigation. he also watched it dozens of times. he believes it is true authentic. he says that video is so chilling, so chilling and unbearable to watch, they just decided not to publish it not because of the video, which is shaky as you presumably would expect if it was the last 15 seconds of the flight but because of sounds of the people and passengers screaming. nbc news hasn't seen the video, cannot confirm existence of this video or whether it is authentic. >> also disturbing reaction from the ceos of lufthansa and germanwings when asked yesterday by bill neely about the e-mail reportedly from the co-pilot addressing his mental health and how much the airline knew before he boarded that flight. >> indeed. we were hopeful that they will

tell more about that where he says he went through depression. lufthansa made it clear while trainees like lubitz are training in that flight facility even though it is run by lufthansa, they're not yet employees of lufthansa. tamron? >> thank you very much claudio. coming up defense rests in the boston bombing trial after brief testimony. whose fingerprints were on the bombs and why would that matter if the defense already admitted dzhokhar tsarnaev helped carry out the attacks. plus this. >> you going to let me [bleep] finish. stop interrupting me. >> this isn't important enough to me. you're not important enough. >> the nypd is reviewing that videotape that's gone viral, showing an officer berating degrading an uber driver even mocking his accent. plus chris rock tweets pictures as he says he has been pulled over now three times in

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welcome back to the latest in the boston bombing trial. closing arguments are scheduled for monday. dzhokhar tsarnaev's defense team rested their case yesterday after calling just four witnesses in two days amounting to barely five hours of testimony. the final witness for the defense was an fbi fingerprint examiner who testified that dzhokhar tsarnaev's fingerprints were not found on any of the marathon bomb fragments, only his brother's fingerprints were found. two of dzhokhar's fingerprints were found on an unexploded cupper wear bomb discovered after the shootout in watertown, but had six of tamerlan's too. joining me boston globe mike belos. the defense says that dzhokhar tsarnaev is a guilty man, but we know their strategy is to portray tamerlan as the leader

the person that planned this and his brother was following along. >> that's right. dzhokhar was the follower, tamerlan master minded this according to defense, and essentially these witnesses were meant to prove that dzhokhar really was not involved in construction of the bomb was not involved buying the pressure cooker, that dzhokhar basically followed, didn't even download the jihad stuff that tamerlan downloaded and transferred it to dzhokhar's computer. that's a defense strategy. the prosecution really presented a mountain of evidence all kinds, from witnesses to autopsy photos. the jury at one point members were crying during their presentation, so they have a break until closings monday. but the jury really had a lot of evidence that was presented to them has to weighed through a lot. >> they certainly do. another big question out there, why wasn't tamerlan tsarnaev's wife called to testify? i think a lot of people were

surprised by that. there was little reference to her throughout the trial. >> that's interesting. she obviously according to prosecution sources has testified before grand jury has been called to several federal grand juries probing the boston marathon bombings unclear what she told them if anything. she has been under investigation, various authorities looked at her. dzhokhar said she had nothing to do with the bombings. there's also the question of these bombs were constructed in a cambridge apartment where she was living. what did she know when did she know it. those are questions that prosecutors and authorities have been asking. so far, she has not been target of any prosecution but there's still several investigations under way. it is unclear what, if anything she would have told the trial people if she had testified, given her testimony before grand juries. >> mike bellow appreciate your time. thank you. coming up republican

presidential hopefuls are being drawn into the national debate over religious freedom laws and it is exploding divisions in the parties. the first read team says there's good news for the gop. senior political editor mark murray joins me next. audible safety beeping audible safety beeping audible safety beeping the nissan rogue with safety shield technologies. the only thing left to fear is you imagination. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ is it the insightful strategies and analytical capabilities that make edward jones one of the biggest financial services firms in the country? or is it 13,000 financial advisors who take the time to say thank you? 'night jim.

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but when my back hurt, cooking all day... forget about it. tylenol was ok, but it was 6 pills a day. but aleve is just 2 pills all day. and now, i'm back! aleve. following breaking news. any moment now arkansas governor hutchinson will have a press conference to address his state's religious freedom restoration act. it is on his desk he indicated he will sign it. but the country's largest retailer, arkansas based walmart is coming out against the bill. as soon as the governor begins we will take you there live. the first read team says what's playing out in indiana and perhaps in arkansas teaches republicans an important lesson as the 2016 race begins in iowa. conservative talk show host steve daes calls it the first

litmus test of the race. battle lines fully drawn in the first cultural fight of the contest. most top presidential hopeful from jeb bush to ted cruz to scott walker lined up behind the bills. some in the party fear the issue could come back to haunt the eventual nominee in the general election. joining me live senior political editor mark murray. mark i will start with arkansas and how this plays out in the larger picture. you have the report that the governor tried to come up with a compromise negotiate a compromise in that stays without success. this is something that will balloon out as you pointed out in the 2016 general election. >> yeah, and tamron legislation is a little different in arkansas as it is in indiana. but the same dynamic is playing out, one that you and i talked about before. there's almost a divide between social conservatives which makeup an important part of the republican base and big

business. you mention how walmart opposes this arkansas legislation. and those two different pillars of the republican party, social conservatives and big business are at odds. that's why in some ways it is a wedge issue, difficult terrain for the republican party. >> it is interesting the number of companies, mark and the successful companies when you look at the list from apple, i know there are some social conservatives, the guests we had on earlier that dismissed tim cook you have walmart and many others who have come out here against these laws. is there anything in recent memory you could compare this to where big business had such a major impact on a social issue like this? >> well, tamron big business is behind it. it happened fast. so is acceptance of gay marriage in this country. some ways i think a lot of our political system hasn't come to grips with how quickly acceptance of gay marriage has become in this country in the last ten years. you and i talked about how back

in 2003, 2004. before that george w. bush versus john kerry, gay marriage played a role. just 30% of the country backed gay marriage. it is now 59% in our nbc "the wall street journal" poll. in ten years, going from 30% to nearly 60%. >> let me pause you, the governor asa hutchinson is out now. we will take this live news conference. let's listen in. >> wanted to invite speaker gillham and the president join me. appreciate the legislative leaders, how they conducted themselves throughout the session. as everyone knows, house bill 1228 is now on my desk and it is time for me to take a look at it, make comments in reference to it.

this is a bill that in ordinary times would not be controversial. these are not ordinary times. this bill is not really complicated. the bill itself restates the standard of review for the courts to consider in determining first amendment privileges as weight against compelling interest of the state. simply stated as a summary as to what this legislation does. it's a balancing test. the bill itself does not pick winners and losers. it balances two competing constitutional obligations that our founding fathers gave to us. but the issue has become divisive because our nation remains split on how to balance the diversity of our culture with the traditions and firmly

held religious convictions. it has divided families. and there is clearly a generational gap on this issue. my son seth signed the petition asking me dad, the governor to veto this bill. and he gave me permission to make that reference, and it shows that families and there's a generational difference of opinion on these issues. so where are we now in reference to this legislation. i asked through this process of our legislative leaders that certain changes be made. in some instances they were accommodated in change other instances they said no. and that's the balance between the executive and legislative branch. i certainly respect those bodies. it has been my intention all along that house bill 1228

religious freedom restoration act, be crafted in a way that mirrors the federal religious freedom restoration act act that was passed in 1993 and was signed by president clinton. i came to congress after that but i sat on the committee in the house of representatives that considered these amendments had hearings on this federal religious freedom restoration act and so i'm somewhat familiar with it and how it has played out across the country and it was my intention because the federal law does not cover state causes of action that we have a similar law in arkansas. but we wanted to have it crafted similar to what is at the federal level. and to do that changes need to be made. the bill that is on my desk at the present time does not precisely mirror the federal

law. it doesn't mirror it in a couple of ways particularly allowing the first amendment to be asserted in the private litigation between parties or reliance upon the state law and those claims. therefore, i ask that changes be made in the legislation. and i have asked that leaders of the general assembly to recall the bill so it can be amended to reflect the terms of the federal religious freedom restoration act. in the alternative, it can simply have language changes so that those accommodations and changes can be made. so it can be done by recalling the legislation or having additional legislation that would accomplish those changes. again, this is difference between the executive branch and

legislative branch. we all have different viewpoints. my responsibility is to speak out on my own convictions and to do what i can as governor to make sure this bill reflects the values of the people of arkansas protects those of religious conscience but also minimizes the chance of discrimination in the workplace and in the public environment. it is important to recognize that the bill even as currently drafted does not change who we are. and it does not change current protections against discrimination. this bill simply defines the standard to determine the right balance. but how do we as a state communicate to the world that we are respectful of the diverse workplace, and want to be known as a state that does not discriminate but understands

tolerance. that is the challenge that we face. making this law like federal law will aid us in that effort in communication, but also it was my original objective from the beginning. another option we are looking at is to utilize executive order, which interestingly has not been utilized for my research from the executive branch and state government, in terms of protecting against discrimination in the workplace. for state government. we are looking at executive order to aid in communication and make it clear that arkansas wants to be a place o tolerance. we want to be a place that has the right balance between religious protections and religious freedom and nondiscrimination. also, i think we can be assured this will continue to be a

robust debate in the future. i understand a valid title has been approved by attorney general that may put on the ballot an extension of the civil rights protection to additional classes of citizens of arkansas. that debate will continue and be determined by people of the state through legislative body or through vote of the people. this conversation does not end. i expressed my view to legislature. it is up to them to respond to request to the governor that changes be made in the current bill to make it reflect the federal law that i think sets the right tone for arkansas and its future. we will look at additional action down the road as needed partly depending upon the action that the legislature might take. with that i'll see if the president has any comments.

>> thank you, governor. first, let me say that i support a rfra in this session. i think the majority -- >> we were listening to the governor who has now indicated he wants the legislators there to change or amend the law that is on his desk now. previously said he would sign that into law in arkansas, now he is considering that. mark, as is the case in indiana, governor pence indicated he supported the law. around this time yesterday, a different story. he was looking for clarification. governor hutchinson said he supported arkansas' law, but now it appears he is ready to go a step further if changes aren't made brought up the issue of executive order. >> in some ways this was a

surprising development. you can also make the argument that arkansas governor hutchinson saw what was happening and said hold on a second i am not going to sign this legislation into law just yet because there's one big difference. the whole furor that developed in indiana that governor pence had to address was a law he had already signed, and before hutchinson came out and said i think the legislature needs to make these revisions, change things, get it back to the 1993 federal legislation that bill clinton passed make it eye dent cal to eliminate krrs. >> sarah dallof is standing by. we heard from the sponsor of the bill earlier, he says his plan was to protect religious freedom of people there in arkansas. we know behind the scenes the governor had attempted in the past at least to find compromise, but obviously had given in at that point. what is the conversation on the ground, what kind of push back will he receive, the governor

from the more conservative of the party? >> reporter: well good afternoon, tamron. here on the ground we've seen several protesters here organizing for yet another afternoon of voicing their opinions. protesters anti-the bill say it discriminates against gay and lesbian people in the state of arkansas. you heard the governor talk about how the bill needs to be amended, changes need to be made. that's a big change previously when he indicated he would sign it now saying he will go to executive order if necessary to make the amendments make it reflect the 1993 legislation, signed of course by president bill clinton. >> and let me speaking of the clintons, mark we have a tweet from hillary clinton. it says here like indiana law, arkansas bill goes beyond protecting religion would permit unfair discrimination against #lgbt americans. i urge governor to veto.

this came from hillary clinton's twitter account minutes before we heard from governor hutchinson. you and i were talking about implications of the laws as we move further through the cycle and into general election. >> and of course hillary clinton was the former first lady of arkansas. this isn't the first time she tweeted out her opposition to one of these laws. last week she did the same thing when indiana had passed their law. and you do now see this kind of firm divide when it comes to 2016. democrats are on one side with hillary clinton, martin o'malley former democratic governor of maryland is also against these laws. then seeing yesterday that a republican that might be running for the presidency backed what governor of indiana mike pence was doing up until before mike pence had to retreat. so from the likes of jeb bush scott walker ted cruz who are in support of this legislation, ended up the indiana governor

had to retreat, see a retreat from jeb bush, for example, maybe not ted cruz who has tried greatly to appeal to the more conservative in his party, but will jeb bush have to backtrack? i have to bring up another point from governor hutchinson. he said this divided his own family. he believes this is generational. he said his son seth signed the petition asking his father to veto this bill. is this really generational at this point? >> well tamron let me answer both your questions. first, as it comes to jeb bush. his statement was really interesting. it was different than what we saw from marco rubio or ted cruz. he said, i don't believe this law is discriminatory. when you look further into indiana's laws you'll find out that's not the case. that was a position that even mike pence, the indiana governor decided not to take and said, look, we need to clarify this perception matter. it's time for us to change that. jeb bush taking the position that, well i think everyone is misunderstanding it. he might hug on to governor

pence and say, look because there was a misunderstanding, i support what governor pence has now done. as far as the polling and the generational divide, i think this is really fascinating. we often see political parties on wrong sides of issues but when you look at just the polling -- and i'll mention gay marriage. in our nbc "wall street journal" poll, we had 59% of the country backing gay marriage. that includes more than 70% of democrats, 60% of independents, but just 40% of republicans. and of course, when you go into the age situation, and governor hutchinson put it well there's a big generational divide. that exposes one of the pitfalls for the republican party. the more we're talking about gay rights and gay marriage that's something they're going to be on the wrong side of many americans. not in the republican primary but in a general election. >> let me bring in benjamin hardy, associate editor at "the arkansas times." he was with us at the top of the show before the governor's comments.

let's talk about how this will play out politically with the more conservative in the party there. >> sure. well, as i was saying before this really does represent a huge divide within the party here. the governor is in a position right now where notice he did not actually say at any point he would veto the bill. he's asking the legislature to make changes, but the fact is in arkansas, a simple majority can override a gubernatorial veto. if governor hutchinson were to veto the bill the republican-controlled legislature could send it right back to his desk and override his veto. >> but he discussed executive order, something he said is not often used in the state but something he's considering. >> yeah and that's really interesting because he's talking there about directly addressing this question of discrimination. so it would be quite an irony if through this discussion with hb-1228 he were to sign an executive order that were to extend anti-discrimination protections in some way beyond what the scope of the law

originally entailed. >> and again, all of this follows the governor admitting that his own son asked him to veto this bill. he sees it as generational. i think this goes back to the bottom line which is walmart coming out and saying that they do not support this bill and encouraging the governor to veto it. >> right. and governor hutchinson i mean his sort of political lineage comes from a place where he's both definitely a republican that's sided with big business and is an establishment republican. but he also has roots in some very socially conservative places. i think he personally and politically really feels the tension between those two pillars of the party. >> mark, let me bring you back in on the big picture of this conversation and how quickly we watched the developments in arkansas and in indiana from, you know, the end of last week to where we are now. >> yeah and again, it had to do

with with the backlash, tamron. of course, this story percolated late last week and indiana became a story. it turned into a huge political and social story in this country starting monday. and also into yesterday. of course, it's now reverberating into arkansas. again, you know what i find very fascinating is that we saw yesterday from governor mike pence of indiana, and it seems today governor hutchinson in arkansas really wants to do their best to make sure that big business is happy with these things. they don't want to necessarily buck the big corporate giants in their state. i think that's a fascinating development. >> so it is. and what then do they do about social conservatives like for example, the guest who was on today who kept bringing up the fact that there are small businesses, she cited washington state, for example i believe a case out of oregon where they feel businesses are being punished for refusing to serve gays and lesbians. they know all of the other sides of the argument. they know the history of

discrimination for african-americans, interracial couples. the list goes on and on. if pivoted to there's a misunderstanding, what then has to happen to appease those people or will they simply be dismissed in this conversation in indiana and in arkansas? >> that's the big rub. there are these two counterpressures. on the one hand you had big business that says we don't want to be seen as discriminating at all. we want to serve our products to everyone. you have social conservatives who say religious liberty is incredibly important. we believe gay marriage doesn't confirm to our christian beliefs. so they're at lagger heads. republicans are going to be talking to republicans to get them to vote in presidential primaries across the country. they won't be talking to the general election audience as a whole. so how that plays out and how the republican presidential candidates are able to try to talk to republicans as they're

caught in this divide and when that audience seems to skew a little more on the social conservative front, that's going to be something to watch. >> it is indeed. thank you very much mark murray. benjamin, thank you for your time as well. that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall. up next "andrea mitchell reports." american express for travel and entertainment worldwide. just show them this - the american express card. don't leave home without it! and someday, i may even use it on the moon. it's a marvelous thing! oh! haha! so you can replace plane tickets, traveler's cheques, a lost card.

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right now on andrea mitchell report, the waiting game. negotiations on the iran nuclear deal go into overtime. even without a done deal israel's prime minister is crying foul. >> the concessions offered to iran in lausanne would ensure a bad deal that would endanger israel, the middle east and the peace of the world. big business backlash after the push to get indiana to pull back on its religious freedom law. arkansas passes a similar bill but the governor went against expectations and called for changes to the current version just moments ago. >> we're looking at an executive order to aid in that

communication and to make it clear that arkansas wants to be a place of tolerance. and more questions, no answers. lufthansa now admits the pilot of the doomed plane was treated for a previous episode of severe depression. so what does the ceo of the airline have to say? >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry. >> why did it take you so long to publish -- >> sir, your employee crashed a plane. why are you refusing to take questions? and a very good day. i'm kristen welker in washington, where we're following breaking news from switzerland. secretary of state john kerry and iranian negotiators could announce an agreement on the framework for a